The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the termination of its June 21, 2021 interim final rule (IFR) implementing an emergency temporary standard (ETS) intended to protect healthcare and “healthcare support” workers from occupational exposure to COVID-19 in settings where people with COVID-19 are reasonably expected to be present (e.g., hospitals). SWACCA was monitoring this rulemaking and expressed concerns regarding it to the Biden Administration because the IFR’s definition of “healthcare support” workers included healthcare facility maintenance staff. In announcing the termination of its rulemaking, OSHA explained that a number of factors – including changes in COVID-19 scientific literature, control approaches, and guidance along with the need for the separate, broader Infectious Diseases standard – led the agency to determine that “the most effective and efficient use of agency resources to protect healthcare workers from occupational exposure to COVID-19, as well as a host of other infectious diseases, is to focus its resources on the completion of an Infectious Diseases rulemaking for healthcare rather than a disease-specific standard.” As a result, as of January 15, 2025, OSHA has withdrawn its June 21, 2021 IFR and terminated the rulemaking process under the IFR for the COVID-19 ETS.
